When people desire to eat a piece of fruit, such as an apple, they prefer not to eat the core portion, partly because it contains the usually bitter seeds of the fruit. The removal of the core can be accomplished either by cutting (or eating) the desirable parts off the core as the fruit is consumed, or with the use of a tool, cutting out the core from the center of the fruit before it is consumed.
The latter method, known as coring the fruit, typically involves the use of a device similar to those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 185,902 to Fallows, and 1,293,351 to Creasey. Later, the issue of how to more easily remove the core from the core remover was addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,448,652 to Anderson et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 1,530,822 to Gibson.
Prior to the present invention, there have existed numerous coring devices, most of which are used principally as hand held devices. Typical designs of these devices are shown in the patents to Fallows, Creasey, Anderson et al., Gibson, and in U.S. Pat. No. 1,605,677 to McCarthy, U.S. Pat. No. 2,990,615 to Ohler, U.S. Pat. No. 4,310,969 to Cannizzaro et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,073 to Ewald.
However, until the present invention, hand held coring devices lacked some form of protection for their cutting edges. The serrated edges, sharpened points, and finely beveled cutting edges of the prior art corers were routinely exposed to the impact of other objects, which could damage and/or dull the cutting edge. At the same time these exposed edges posed a safety hazard to the hands and fingers of unwary persons.
Thus, there exists a need to provide a coring device that is capable of coring a fruit and removing the core from the device. There is further a need to provide such a device which protects the cutting edge from the damaging effects of impact, while protecting persons from being cut by the exposed blade when the device is not in use.
Accordingly, a first object of the present invention is to provide a coring device that is capable of removing the core from a piece of fruit, and thereafter removing the fruit core from the device.
A further object is to provide a coring device that protects the cutting edge thereof from impact damage.
Yet another object is to provide a coring device that protects individuals from cutting themselves on the cutting edge.